RORATE CÆLI

Saints of the Old Testament: St. David, king and prophet

"The Tree of Jesse"
St. David in a dream foresees his blessed offspring

From the frontispiece of the 15th century breviary of Philippe le Bon

MS 9511 - Royal Library of Belgium-Brussels

And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse,

and a flower shall rise up out of his root.

And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him:

the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding,

the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude,

the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness.

And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes,

nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears.

But he shall judge the poor in righteousness,

and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth:

and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins:

and faith the girdle of his reins . . .

In that day the root of Jesse, who standeth for an ensign of the people,

him shall the Gentiles beseech,

and his sepulchre shall be glorious.

(Isaias 11:1-10)

And one of the presbyters said to me: Weep not; behold, the lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

(Apocalypse 5:5)

Girl Guides at the Chartres Pilgrimage in France.

Today, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, I am publishing the latest Position Paper from the Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce, on Children and the Extraordinary Form.

Triumph of the Innocents

William Holman Hunt, 1883-4

Today, the 4th day of Christmas, the Church celebrates the heavenly birthday of the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem, whom wicked King Herod, seeking to destroy the long-awaited Messiah, slew in the first or second year of the Christian Era.

De Mattei - The Pope and Malta: A bogus commissioning

Robert de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana

December 24, 2016

Has the Pope appointed an external commissioner to the Order of Malta? Pope Francis undeniably likes the strategy of appointing external commissioners as he has already adopted this draconian measure against two religious communities considered too “traditional”: the Franciscans of the Immaculate and the religious of the Incarnate Word. Further, it is not by chance that the announcement of a commission to “gather suitable elements to inform the Holy See thoroughly and swiftly with regard to the matter which has recently involved the Grand Chancellor of the Order of Malta, Mr. Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager”, was given by the Vatican Press Office on December 22^nd, precisely while Pope Bergoglio was transforming his traditional Christmas greetings to the Curia into a bitter chiding against those who are resistant to his project of radical change in the Church, with implicit reference to Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, Patron of the Order of Malta. However, in this case, the appointing of an external commissioner is not at all possible.

Guest Op-Ed: "The Upcoming Burke-Bergoglio Battle over the Knights of Malta"

A special Christmas guest Op-Ed, by Rev. Father "Ignotus".

(Oh, and a very blessed Christmas to all our readers and their families!!!)

***

The Upcoming Burke-Bergoglio

Battle over the Knights of Malta

by Pater Ignotus

It is no secret that Pope Francis’s removal of Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke from the tribunal of the Apostolic Signature and his installation as “Patron” of the Knights of Malta was intended to consign the trad-friendly Ur-canonist to an ecclesiastical backwater. No “promoveatur,” just “amoveatur,” and don’t let the door slam on your cappa magna on your way out.

How much trouble, Bergoglio and his entourage probably figured, could Burke possibly cause heading a charitable organization that now specializes in disaster relief?

Well plenty, it seems. Rorate readers are well aware of the cardinal’s strenuous efforts to defend the traditional Catholic teachings on marriage and the reception of the sacraments, especially in the affair of the “dubia,” which has yet to play out completely.

LiveMass Christmas Schedule

Watch Christmas liturgical events at www.livemass.net.

Schedule below:

Come, o come, Emmanuel...

It's almost time!...

O Emmanuel! King of peace! Thou enterest today the city of Thy predilection, the city in which Thou hast placed Thy temple—Jerusalem. A few years hence the same city will give Thee Thy cross and Thy sepulchre: nay, the day will come on which Thou wilt set up Thy judgement-seat within sight of her walls. But to-day Thou enterest the city of David and Solomon unnoticed and unknown. It lies on Thy road to Bethlehem.

It's been a long-held popular belief that Christmas is the day when the most souls are released from Purgatory.

Please send the names of your deceased loved ones before Christmas Day. As long as they're in our inbox they're enrolled in the Society. Get them in just in time for Christmas then consider making your Christmas Mass offertory intention for all the souls enrolled in the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society.

How to enroll souls: please email me at athanasiuscatholic@yahoo.com and submit as follows: "Name, State, Country." If you want to enroll entire families, simply write in the email: "The Jones family, Ohio, USA". Individual names are preferred. Be greedy -- send in as many as you wish and forward this posting to friends as well.

Priests: Want to give Jesus a birthday present? Why not join the Purgatorial Society and give Him the gift of more saints to be with Him in Heaven? This is not hard. All it takes is to pledge one TLM a week or a month with the intention "For the relief of the souls enrolled in the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society." That's it. Give our Lord a wonderful gift this year, Fathers!

Wall Street Journal: "How Pope Francis Became the Leader of the Global Left"

Robespierre - Marx & Engels - Lassalle - Liebknecht - Lenin - Trostsky - Stalin - Mao - Fidel - Hoxha - Pol Pot - Chavez...

...Jorge Mario Bergoglio

From The Wall Street Journal:

Nine dead, dozens injured in the Berlin Christmas Market: may they rest in peace.

In the Turkish capital, the Russian ambassador is slaughtered under the cry of, "Allah is great."

Each day, the Muslim brutality increases in intensity and shock -- and an emasculated Western media becomes increasingly afraid of identifying the culprit. The culprit is Islam. There is no other. The religion of the scimitar, of violence, of murder, of sexual perversion will always be Islam.

May the sweetness of the coming Baby Jesus convert the hearts of Muslims and secularists alike, so they can one day recognize that Jesus Christ is the Lord, and that only He is able to make all things new.

Our 11th Anniversary Gift:
- Full text of "THE NEW RELIGION", by Don Pietro Leone

We first published the first excerpts of Don Pietro Leone's booklet "THE NEW RELIGION".

Now, on the date of our 11th Anniversary, RORATE SUNDAY, we present the full text of the booklet to our readers as a gift.

Thank you for your support and readership all these years -- and Happy Rorate Sunday!

***

Now the content of Faith is immutable and infallible, and, as the First Vatican Council teaches, can develop through the centuries only in the clarity and profundity of its expression. In recent years, however, we have observed how doctrines have been insinuated into the Magisterium which constitute neither a clarification nor a deeper understanding of the Faith, but rather new doctrines: heretical in character, either actually or tendentially, according to the deadly agenda of Modernism.

What we would like to ask now with regard to these doctrines, is whether they represent mere distortions or falsifications of the respective articles of Faith, or whether, together with the New Rite of Mass, the New Rites of all the sacraments, the New Code of Canon Law, the New Breviary, the New Catechism, the New Evangelization, the new morality and spirituality lived and preached by the clergy, the new relaxed Church discipline (in the rules of the religious orders and the dress of the clergy) they form as a whole a New Religion altogether.

In our discussion of the new marital teaching of the Church's Magisterium in our work 'Family under Attack' we offered an answer to this question in terms of Gnosis. The aim of the present essay is to expound that answer in further detail. The essay falls into the following parts:

I Gnosis at the Beginning of Time;

II Gnosis in the Perverted Càbala;

III Gnosis as the New Religion.

Postscript on Gnosis in the World of To-day.

I wish to thank Francesca Romana for her kindness and tireless efforts in translating this essay.

GNOSIS AT THE BEGINNING OF TIME

De Mattei - The 80th Birthday of Pope Francis

Pope Francis’ eighty years

Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana

(originally for IL TEMPO, 16th December 2016)

Pope Francis crosses the threshold of 80 years: Ingravescentem aetatem (advanced age), as Paul VI’s motu proprio of November 21st 1970 defines it, which imposes every cardinal to abandon all of their duties, expropriating them also of the right to go into conclave. Paul VI established the rule to create a new “Montinian” curia, but in doing so introduced a profound contradiction inside the more than thousand year praxis of the Church. If in fact advanced age is an obstacle for the head of a diocese or ministry, and even hinders a cardinal from electing a Pope, how can one imagine, that, a cardinal becoming Pope and then reaching the age of 80 can sustain the burden of leading the universal Church?

Prepare ye the way of your funeral

Last week a traditional Latin Requiem High Mass was offered for the funeral of an archdiocesan priest who enjoyed celebrating the TLM in his healthier years. It almost did not happen, as the local ordinary insisted on a novus ordo funeral. Thankfully, the deceased priest made preparations for the day, and his attorney stepped in to amplify the late priest's desire, including having the funeral elsewhere if necessary. The archbishop (known as one of the more conservative prelates in the U.S.) dropped his case and attended the TLM Requiem Mass, offered by another archdiocesan priest.

A traditional funeral at an FSSP parish in 2014.

This incident, along with sad examples that could be given (a traditional priest cremated, "On Eagles Wings" performed at white vestment novus ordo funerals for traditional-leaning Catholics, etc.) illustrate the importance of planning ahead for your funeral and burial. Sometimes one's family will opt for the quickest, cheapest and easiest funeral, and the local parish will likely oblige. So, as we enter the homestretch of this Advent season, it should be a time of preparation -- including for such matters as this.

De Mattei: The irrevocable duties of Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana

December 14, 2016

In his intervention at the Lepanto Foundation on December 5, 2016, Cardinal Raymond Burke said: “There is a very heavy burden on a cardinal’s shoulders. We are the Pope’s Senate and his primary counsellors and must, above all, serve the Pope, by telling him the truth. Submitting questions, as we have done to the Pope, is in the Church’s tradition, specifically to avoid divisions and confusion. We did this with the highest respect for the Petrine Office, without lacking reverence to the person of the Pope. There are many questions, but the five main questions we have posed must, of necessity, have a response for the salvation of souls. We pray every day for a response, faithful to Tradition, in the uninterrupted apostolic line that takes us back to Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

You suggest: Devotion to the Infant King, and rebuilding His Shrine in Chicago

The following was given to us by the ICR's Shrine of Christ the King:

Veni Veni, Emmanuel!

Join us, the Institute's Shrine of Christ the King, this Holy Advent season as we embark on a powerful and spiritual pilgrimage to Bethlehem through the deeply rooted Christmas novena to the Infant King. As we prepare for the coming of Our Savior, let us meditate upon His Holy birth, God’s giving of His Only Son, and how we can pay homage and adoration to our Earthly and Heavenly King.

Now that the historic Infant King statue has been newly restored after last year’s devastating fire and has returned to His home in Chicago, please joyfully and spiritually join the Shrine of Christ the King by participating in the monthly novena to the Infant King from December 17^th to December 25^th. Through appreciative and jubilant prayers, help us rebuild and restore a glorious home for the Infant King! The Christ Child has promised us, “The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you.”

While the Church Universal today commemorates the heavenly birthday of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop and martyr, she also recalls the exemplary holiness of three Old Testament saints, whose names are enrolled in the traditional Roman Martyrology immediately following that of St. Eusebius:

This Day, the Sixteenth Day of December

St. Eusebius, bishop of Vercelli and martyr, mentioned on the 1st of August, and also on the 15th of this month.

The young men, Ananias, Azarias and Misael, whose bodies were buried in a cavern at Babylon.

Charges dropped against Founder of the Franciscan of the Immaculate

Translation exclusive to Rorate Caeli.

By Marco Tosatti

The charges against Father Stefano Manelli, founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate have been dropped. After about a year of investigations, the Deputy State Prosecutor at the Court of Avellino, Doctor A. Del Bene, has asked for the closing of the proceedings against the religious, whose Order is still under commissioning without a valid reason having ever been given by the Congregation for Religious.

Professional liberal sycophant Austen Ivereigh penned an article for the Knights of Columbus' website "Crux", criticizing those who know that the Church cannot change her doctrine established by Our Lord Jesus Christ on Marriage, Penance, and Eucharistic Communion. In the article, he makes repeated use of this metaphor:

"...the train has left the station, the Church is moving on..."

That, of course, is a ludicrous metaphor which makes no sense whatsoever.

The spirit of the liturgy in the words and actions of Our Lady

On Saturday, November 12, I delivered the plenary address at the Annual General Meeting of the Vancouver Traditional Mass Society/Una Voce Canada. The event was located at Holy Family Parish, an apostolate of the Fraternity of St. Peter. The text of my lecture is reproduced in full below, with notes at the end. All paintings are by James Tissot (1836-1902). Those who would like to listen to the audio (including Q&A) will find it here.

The Spirit of the Liturgy in the Words and Actions of Our Lady

Peter A. Kwasniewski

Reverend Fathers and friends in Christ: I thank all of you for coming this evening to hear my lecture, which I dedicate to Our Lady of Victories and to our saint of today, Pope St. Martin I. Rather than compromise one bit with error (as Pope Honorius had shamefully done about 15 years earlier), St. Martin energetically opposed the Monothelite heresy, on account of which he was abducted by command of the Byzantine emperor, exiled, imprisoned, and banished. Having died of exhaustion, he is revered as a martyr by both Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox. He exemplifies how a pope is supposed to behave towards heresies, regardless of threats or punishments from the mighty of this world.

The monks of Norcia, who are such a beacon of hope in the Catholic world and who have been through so much suffering in the past half-year, are valiantly re-establishing their monastic life on top of a hill overlooking the town. This year, due to the upheavals, they are not publishing their wall calendar in a paper version, but they have still created a beautiful calendar that is available for free download here.

New Holy Martyrs of Egypt!

Over 20 Christians (the number is still uncertain) were Martyred by an explosion placed in or near the St. Mark Coptic Cathedral in Cairo.

May these new Martyrs pray for Christians everywhere. May we pray for the consolation of their families and for the injured.

When, oh when, will this age of Islamic genocide of Christians end? Parce nobis, Domine!...

Dear Sycophants of Pope Francis: If you truly love him, don't let the world see his nakedness

Ham mocking Noah
Bernardino Luini (1515)
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

When a relative we love, due to aging or an underlying medical issue, starts saying or doing inappropriate things, what do we do? Out of love, we take him out of the limelight of life. We spare him of any shame - not for our sake, but for his. When a dear grandmother starts babbling inappropriate words, there is no greater love than to protect her image.

Holy Writ itself presents us such an example, when of the episode of Noah's nakedness and the curse of Ham and his son Canaan. Let us recall:

And drinking of the wine was made drunk, and was uncovered in his tent. Which when Ham the father of Canaan had seen, to wit, that his father's nakedness was uncovered, he told it to his two brethren without. But Shem and Japheth put a cloak upon their shoulders, and going backward, covered the nakedness of their father: and their faces were turned away, and they saw not their father' s nakedness. And Noah awaking from the wine, when he had learned what his younger son had done to him, He said: Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. (Genesis, chapter 9)

Letter in support of the Four Cardinals from Catholic academics and pastors

This press release speaks for itself; I (Joseph Shaw) am a signatory.

Statement of Support for the Four Cardinals’ Dubia

As Catholic scholars and pastors of souls, we wish to express our profound gratitude and full support for the courageous initiative of four members of the College of Cardinals, Their Eminences Walter Brandmüller, Raymond Leo Burke, Carlo Caffarra and Joachim Meisner. As has been widely publicized, these cardinals have formally submitted five dubia to Pope Francis, asking him to clarify five fundamental points of Catholic doctrine and sacramental discipline, the treatment of which in Chapter 8 of the recent Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (AL) appears to conflict with Scripture and/or Tradition and the teaching of previous papal documents – notably Pope St. John Paul II’s Encyclical Veritatis Splendor and his Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio. Pope Francis has so far declined to answer the four cardinals; but since they are in effect asking him whether the above weighty magisterial documents still require our full assent, we think that the Holy Father’s continued silence may open him to the charge of negligence in the exercise of the Petrine duty of confirming his brethren in the faith.

RORATE´s 2017 Person of the Year

Our Lady of Fatima

(The Immaculate Heart of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima)

Adveniat Regnum tuum!

The 2017 Angelus Press liturgical calendar -- and a surprise

As we do every year, we highlight traditional Catholic calendars that are sent to us. And one of the best each year is from Angelus Press. The 2017 theme is "The Life of Christ through the liturgical year."

But we got a surprise in this year's package!

Don Pietro Leone: Cheerfulness

By Don Pietro Leone

St. Philip Neri

“Cheerfulness strengthens the heart and makes us persevere in a good life. Therefore the servant of God, ought always to be in good spirits"

According to St. Thomas Aquinas, cheerfulness is a particular virtue which is a part of justice. The virtue of justice is defined as the virtue of giving the other his due, whether that other is God or man. An example of justice in the strict sense is paying back a debt. Now cheerfulness involves giving another something which is not due to him strictly, but in equity, in fairness: namely by behaving pleasantly to those around one. Cheerfulness, like truthfulness, is completely natural, because man naturally lives in society, and without cheerfulness and truthfulness society would not last. St. Thomas quotes Aristotle in this regard: ‘No-one could abide a single day with the sad or with the joyless’.

Why cheerfulness is necessary to society is because it maintains harmony between the different members of society, both in actions and in words. Cheerfulness, apart from being a part of justice, is a form of friendliness. We can distinguish between two forms of friendliness: a particular form which springs from a particular affection for a friend; and a general form which springs from a general affection for all people. Cheerfulness is this latter form of friendliness: it is directed towards every-one. It is directed towards every-one, though not always in the same way: not with the same intimacy with a stranger as with a friend, for example, but in an appropriate way: in a way that suits the circumstances. Interestingly the book of Ecclesiasticus (4.7) particularly mentions the poor as the object of our cheerfulness or friendliness, perhaps because it can be more difficult to be friendly to the poor: ‘Make thyself affable to the congregation of the poor’.

Article: "Considerations on the dubia of the four cardinals"

by John R. T. Lamont, DPhil

Cardinals Brandmüller, Burke, Caffarra and Meisner have performed a signal service to the Church by sending five dubia on the apostolic exortation Amoris laetitia to the Holy See, requesting an authoritative clarification of the meaning of that document, and then making public the text of the dubia when no response to them was given. Cardinal Burke has performed a further service to the Church by explaining this initiative in an interview with Edward Pentin of the National Catholic Register on Nov. 15^th 2016, and stating that if no response was given to the dubia the cardinals would have to make a formal act of correction of a serious error.

As is proper, the dubia were formulated in a manner appropriate to an official request of this kind, and the formal act of correction to which Cardinal Burke refers is an act with a legal character. Catholics may find it helpful to be given a presentation of the canonical, historical and theological background to the dubia and the suggested act of correction, and to the situation that has led to the action of the Cardinals. This background is no doubt well known to the four Cardinals, but it is less accessible to those who lack their specialised knowledge. This article is intended to help with the comprehension and appreciation of their initiative.

The dubia

New translation of St. Robert Bellarmine autobiography (and more reader discounts!)

We have enjoyed a strong relationship with Catholic author and publisher Ryan Grant of Mediatrix Press for a few years. And we are pleased to bring to you his latest work, the first English translation of The Autobiography of St. Robert Bellarmine. Check out his site now, as he's added a number of new titles to the "Rorate Discount Page."

CLICK HERE FOR THE BOOK & RORATE DISCOUNT PAGE

Besides the Saint's autobiography, this work also includes his model for composing sermons, and 7 sermons on the Annunciation which have rarely been seen before in Latin, and never before in English. The Autobiography was written by St. Robert in 1613-1614, at the request of some Jesuit brothers that wanted an account of his life. It is not terribly long, nor exhaustive of the Saint's life, but it is an account written by his own hand of the recollections he had as he approached 70. To this Mr. Grant has added numerous footnotes and some appendices so as to aid the reader in gathering the historical details surrounding St. Robert's life.

St. Robert Bellarmine was also an excellent preacher -- considered one of the best of his age -- and it is fitting that, as he speaks of preaching so frequently in the autobiography, that his Guide to Composing Sermons has been provided, along with 7 sermons on the Annunciation so as to demonstrate these principles in action. The Sermons combine St. Robert's considerable erudition and knowledge of Holy Scripture with his great piety, but simplified for to be for all.

In a special just for Rorate readers, you can now purchase this book by clicking here to receive a 20% discount ($15). Additionally, our readers can take advantage of special discounts explicitly for you, on other books published by Mediatrix Press.

Lastly, the foreword for this book has been written by Fr. Philip Wolfe, FSSP, who is well known for his excellent traditional sermons. See the forward below:

Bizarre move: Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople writes article for L'Osservatore Romano endorsing Amoris Laetitia.
Revisiting the contrasting positions of Moscow and Constantinople at the Synod of 2015

In what is surely one of the most bizarre twists in the debate on Amoris Laetitia, Pariarch Bartholomew, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, has penned an article unabashedly endorsing that exhortation. While it is no secret that the Kasperite and liberal wing have partly taken inspiration from Eastern Orthodox praxis, that L'Osservatore Romano would go to the extent of publishing an article from Bartholomew in support of AL will only exacerbate the concerns of those who do see this document as intending a departure from perennial Catholic teaching.

The full text of the editorial, in English, can be found here: "God is Love (1 John 4:8)".

This is our monthly reminder to please enroll Souls of the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society. We now stand at 76 priests saying weekly or monthly traditional Latin Masses for the Souls.

NEW! Click here to download a "fillable" PDF Mass Card to give to the loved ones of the Souls you enroll. It's free.

Priests: The Souls still need more of you saying Mass for them! Please email me to offer your services. There's nothing special involved -- all you need to do is offer a weekly or monthly TLM with the intention: "For the Souls enrolled in the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society." And we will always keep you completely anonymous unless you request otherwise.

How to enroll souls: please email me at athanasiuscatholic@yahoo.com and submit as follows: "Name, State, Country." If you want to enroll entire families, simply write in the email: "The Jones family, Ohio, USA". Individual names are preferred. Be greedy -- send in as many as you wish and forward this posting to friends as well.

King Josias obeys the Holy Spirit's prompting to purge the land of false religion

Only two days after the commemoration of the prophet St. Naum, the traditional Roman Martyrology today offers for our veneration another of the holy prophets of the Old Testament -- St. Sophonias, whose book is another of the Minor Prophets. Indeed, this month and September both have a higher number than usual of Old Testament saints' days. St. Sophonias holds a place of honor as second from the top of the list of this day's saints in the Martyrology, immediately after the great apostle of the Orient:

This Day, the Third Day of December

St. Francis Xavier, confessor, of the Society of Jesus, who died on the 2d of this month.

In Judea, the holy prophet Sophonias.

The Fall of Nineveh, John Martin, 1828

With the Advent Season under way, in which we prepare for the coming of the Lord, we today recall another Old Testament saint, the holy prophet Naum, whose book is enrolled in the biblical canon as one of the 12 Minor Prophets. St. Naum, whom God sent as a messenger of divine judgment against the cruel Assyrian Empire, heads the honorable roll of saints in the traditional Roman Martyrology on this day:

This Day, the First Day of December

The prophet Nahum, who was buried in Begabar

Event: Bishop Athanasius Schneider Mass and conference in Spain

This comes from our friends at Adelante La Fe, Rorate Caeli Español:

The Benedictines of Mary -- just in time for Christmas

There's really not much more to say about the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles. They are fully traditional Catholic nuns, they've topped the classical charts with their beautiful CDs, they've been all over national television and, praise God, they read Rorate! So they sent us their latest incredible compilation: A Christmas CD, Caroling at Ephesus.

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO BUILDING NEW PRIORY CHURCH. CLICK HERE NOW

Majestic Lecture by Prof. Roberto de Mattei:
"Resistance and Fidelity to the Church in times of crisis"

"Resistance and Fidelity to the Church in times of crisis"

Prof. Roberto de Mattei

From a conference given in Florence - October 2, 2016

1.The infallibility and indefectibility of the Church

The Church has been through the gravest crises in the course of Her history: external persecutions like those which characterized the first three centuries of Her life and since then have always accompanied Her; internal crises, such as Arianism in the fourth century and the Great Western Schism. However, the process of the Church’s “self-demolition” “struck by those who belong to Her” which Paul VI spoke of as far back as 1968[1], appears to be a crisis without precedent because of the extent and depth of it.

We say this in a spirit of deep love for the Papacy, rejecting every form of anti-infallibility, Gallicanism and conciliarism; in a word, every error that would diminish the role and mission of the Papacy. We profess with the entire Church, that there is no higher authority on earth than that of the Pope, since there is no mission or office more elevated than his. Jesus Christ, in the person of Peter and his successors conferred to the Roman Pontiff, the mission to be the visible head of the Church and His Vicar[2]. The dogmatic constitution Pastor aeternus of the First Vatican Council defined the dogmas of the Roman Primacy and papal infallibility[3]. The first asserts that the Pope has supreme power of jurisdiction, both ordinary and immediate, over individual Churches, individual pastors and all the faithful. The second dogma teaches that the Pope is infallible when he speaks “ex cathedra”, which is to say when in his function as Supreme Pastor, he defines that a doctrine in matters of faith or morals must be held by the entire Church.

The authority of the Pope has precise limits however, which cannot be ignored. Javier Hervada in his well-known manual on Constitutional Canon Law, writes: “The power of the pope is not unlimited: it is circumscribed within determined limits. The limits may regard the validity or lawfulness in his exercise of power. The limits regarding validity are given as: a) of the natural law: b) of the positive Divine law; c) of the nature and the ends of the Church”[4].

"Silence" = the antithesis of "A Man for All Seasons"

In 1966 the movie "A Man for All Seasons" was released in the U.S., the same year Japanese author Shūsaku Endō wrote the historical fiction novel "Silence."

Last night, the Vatican hosted the world premiere of the movie version of "Silence," which will be released next month. Shown at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, administered by the Jesuits, approximately 400 priests and others attended. Rorate's invitation to the screening may have been lost in the mail, so we have not seen the movie. But based on the novel, the endings for the two 1966 works could not be more opposite. One concludes with heroism and martyrdom, the other with indifference and apostasy.

The adaption of "Silence" for the big screen was done by Mr. Martin Scorsese, a former seminarian (Cathedral College minor seminary in New York) who is now a self-proclaimed "lapsed Catholic." One may remember his scandalous and sacrilegious 1988 movie, "The Last Temptation of Christ."